Wiley’s portrait of Obama works well for the three seconds that we get to experience the painting while scrolling through Instagram and Facebook. But it does not work well in conveying what we most admired about Obama, and the humanity that we saw him embody during his time in office. The painting of Barack Obama is merely a plastic figurine, defined by its labels.

I spent some time with three artists (Carolee Schneemann, Cathy Wilkes, and Laura Owens) whom I have not taken the time to consider seriously before. Their recent exhibitions in New York at the PS1 and the Whitney gave me a good reason to think deeply about their practice. Here are some of my initial reactions.… Continue reading Schneemann, Wilkes, and Owens→